Eastern Harps GAA Club

AGM 2020

Eastern Harps Premium Sponsors 2020 Eastern Harps GAA Club would like to thank their Premium Sponsors for all their help and support throughout 2020 Padraig O’Dowd Transport Drury’s Bar

East Brothers Tansey’s Centra, Gurteen

The Traveller’s Rest James Duffy & Co., Accountants

McHugh Express The Fox’s Den

Mens Rowing 2020

CONTENTS Eastern Harps Premium Sponsors 2020…………………………………………. .1-2 Minutes of Annual General Meeting 2019………………………………. On Line Agenda ………………………………………………………………………………4 Chairman’s Address………………………………………………………………….5 Secretary’s Report on the Activities of Eastern Harps GAA Club 2020…………….8 Senior Mens Report…………………………………………………………………21 Junior Mens Report………………………………………………………………....23 Minor Boys………………………………………………………………………….24 U16 Boys……………………………………………………………………………24 U14 Boys……………………………………………………………………………25 U12 Boys……………………………………………………………………………26 Ladies Chairman’s Address…………………………………………………………27 Senior Ladies………………………………………………………………………..30 Minor Girls………………………………………………………………………….32 U16 Girls………………………………………………………………………...... 33 U14 Girls……………………………………………………………………………34 U12 Girls……………………………………………………………………………35 Under Age Academy…………..…………………………………………………....36 Gaelic For Mothers and Others……………………………………………………...39 Pitch/ Clubhouse Committee Report………………………………………………...39 Bord Na nÓg Report ………………………………………………………………...41 Healthy Club Report………………………………………………………………... 42 Development Committee Report…………………………………………………….43 Ross Makes History………………………………………………………………….46 Annual Grand Members Draw……………………………………………………….48 Club Draw Rules for All Ireland Tickets…………………………………………….49 Executive Members 2019…………………………………………………………….50 Executive Committee Nominations 2019…………………………………………....51

CLÁIRSIGH AN OIRTHEAR EASTERN HARPS G.A.A. CLUB Fr. Kevin Brehony Memorial Park, Keash, Co.Sligo.

Chairman :Seamus Hannon Secretary:Thomas Murphy Treasurer :Thomas Cryan

Ladies Chairperson: Gary Ward Ladies Secretary: Catherine Cryan Eastern Harps GAA Club AGM 29th November 2020 Agenda

1. Adoption of Standing Orders and Guide to Voting.

2. Minutes of previous Annual General Meeting.

3. The Chairperson’s address.

4. Consideration of the Annual Report submitted by the Secretary –Ratify.

5. Consideration of the Financial Statements –Ratify.

6. Election of Officers and Members of the Executive Committee.

7. Notices of Motions.

8. Other Business.

Chairmans Address I would like to welcome you all to this year’s Annual General meeting. A meeting with a difference as our club makes history with our first online A.G.M. It was with great gratitude that I accepted the nomination to the position of Chairperson at last year’s AGM. What a difference a year can make. Little did any of us realize the challenges that we were going to be faced with throughout this year. For many months most of us didn’t believe that any football would take place. Thankfully that didn’t come to pass. Our club faced the same challenges as every other club and organisation throughout the country. We adapted and implemented measures to overcome the challenges we were faced with. Our overriding objective always is the safety of everyone involved in the club and every effort will be made to ensure public health and safety is maintained throughout this Covid-19 pandemic. The year got off to a great start with the announcement that our club had won the County and Connacht Club Grounds of the year. This was a well-deserved award on the back of the completion of our new Club house. Being recognised by the Connacht Council as the best in Connacht is by any regard a massive achievement. Great credit is due to everyone involved in bringing the project to fruition. Just as plans were being put in place for what was going to be another promising year, Covid-19 put everything on pause. While this is an unwelcomed disruption to the way we live our lives, our club decided not to sit back and instead used this as an opportunity to do some good for our community. At the start of restrictions, the club reached out to support our community through assisting the older and more vulnerable people in the area. In addition to this we used the time to fundraise for two local community projects which are at the very heart of our community. Ballymote Community Nursing unit and (Community of Lough Arrow Social Programme.) C.L.A.S.P were assisted in their fundraising efforts. With the support of our senior players the club succeeded in raising over €13,000 between both organisations. The club adapted well to the new norm with Executive meetings moving online. The business side of the club continued as normal and we managed to finance the running of the club throughout the year in the absence of any fundraising opportunities. We have continued to be successful in raising vital funds through grant support. Huge thanks to Sean Scott for his success with grant applications throughout the year. Through Sean’s efforts the club has being successful in securing vital funding for many projects. We are thankful to the Sports Capital programme for funding to complete the lift in the clubhouse, the last remaining item of unfinished work with this project. More recently we have been awarded funding from Sligo Leader to furnish the upstairs area of the clubhouse. This will open opportunities to promote the facility for alternatives uses such as a remote working hub or a study centre for students. With the commitment by Sligo County Council to supply High Speed broadband to the Clubhouse this will create opportunities for the wider community to avail of the facility. I would at this point also like to thank Paul Taylor for his support and assistance with the projects we are involved in.

The day to day running of the club requires careful financial management and I am grateful to our Treasurer Thomas Cryan for the work he does on a monthly basis producing high quality financial accounts. Our main income stream for the day to day running of the club comes from our club draw and again thanks to Thomas who takes a lead role in the management of the draw in conjunction with our registration committee. Our sponsors provide financial support through their sponsorship commitments to the club. I want to thank our main sponsors Duffy & Co Accountants, East Brothers, Mc Hugh Express, O Dowd Transport, Drury’s Bar Monasteraden, Tansey’s Centra, The Traveller’s Rest, The Foxes Den & M.K Financial Services. Gurteen Bingo Committee play a big part in providing a steady income stream to Eastern Harps. Unfortunately, this has being a difficult time for the committee but again with new and innovative ways of doing business Bingo returned in August and continued up until the most recent lockdown. Thanks to Gurteen Bingo Committee for their commitment and professionalism in running Gurteen Bingo. For our Development Committee to continue their work it is necessary to continue to raise funds. The facts are that there is grant opportunities to be availed of, but this does in many cases require matching funds. In the absence of traditional fund-raising methods, we need to seek out new income streams. As a club we need to find new ways to fundraise in order to continue investing in facilities. This is a priority for the club, and I am hopeful in the coming weeks we will be able to announce some new initiatives to bolster our income. Our club is lucky to have active sub-committees working behind the scenes on many projects throughout the year. I want to recognise the work of all these committees. Our Development Committee headed by Sean Scott has being instrumental in projecting the club forward through its leadership and forward thinking. Sean and his team are responsible for bringing major projects forward in the club. Our Healthy Club Committee has successfully succeeded in involving the wider community in many healthy initiatives. This year again they partnered with Sligo Sports and Recreation Partnership in the provision of fitness classes. Despite been curtailed by COVID the committee provided some mental agility on line and they also joined forces with the G4MO to provide an online table quiz. The activities of the Healthy Club has and will enhance the lives of many people in our area. Our thanks to this committee for their innovative ideas and their successful inclusion of the wider community into our club. The G4MO had a very curtailed this year but none the less brought enjoyment to their group as always and can be seen in their report further in this booklet. I wish to express my thanks to Monica Beirne for all her work on this. During the first lockdown our pitch and grounds needed to be maintained. I would like to thank the group of people who stepped up and ensured the grounds were kept maintained. I would also like to thank John Cryan for his continuous management of the grounds throughout the year. Registration is one of the most important roles within the club and Deirdre Gillen has the task of managing the register on an annual basis. Thanks to Dee for all her work and commitment in this area.

Communications within the club is important and I would like to thank our P.R.O Kevin Cryan for his weekly updates to the regional press as well and managing our social Media accounts and internal communications. Every club can have state of the art facilitates and well managed balance sheets but in conjunction with all of that we must ensure that we encourage participation and development of our players at all levels. This needs to start at the very earliest opportunity, and I am delighted to say that our club is doing everything we can to develop and nurture footballing skills from a very young age. Our Coaching Officers Linda & Ross Donavon has ensured that Underage football is going from strength to strength. Participation levels are at an all-time high and our aim is to ensure that every child is afforded the opportunity to get involved in club football from a young age. Our challenge as always is to retain our younger members and see them develop and gain the skills that will see them progress to more senior levels within the club. This is an area where Ross & Linda are committed to achieving success. This year the club again managed to host Cul Camps where we had over 120 children take part in many activities. The Kerry Mc Keon competition is an important part of our club and thanks to Mikey O’ Grady Bord nÓg Chairman the competition was run successfully again this year even with schools closed. I wish to express my thanks to PJ Mc Keon and family for their vision in instigating this competition and sponsoring the trophies again this year. Throughout the year we have enjoyed success at underage level. Our U11 & U 12 boys has reached semi-final stage and while all matches are currently suspended, we are looking forward to seeing these remaining games played in the new year. I want to thank Marcus Jackson and Connolly Motors for their sponsorship of Jersey’s and tops for the under 12 panel. Our U14 boys suffered a setback in April with the cancelation of Feile. The team had a real chance of success in the tournament. Unbeaten throughout the championship and finishing top of the group stages of the competition they are currently waiting to play their final. This game will also take place in the new year. Under 16 boys displayed some impressive performances throughout the season but were unsuccessful in their Shield final against a better Coolaney/ Mullinabreena team. Minor boys performed well throughout the Championship, narrowly losing out in the Shield final by a single point to Curry. At underage Girls football this has being a great year and the future of ladies’ football in the club looks very promising. Our U12 girls had a good and enjoyable season ending up superior to Curry in a Shield B final. Our U 14 Girls ended up playing in an A cup final against Eoghan Rua and were defeated by a physically stronger team. Our U 16 girls having got off to a bad start, loosing their first game to Molaise Gaels, went on to be crowned Under 16B Shield winners The minor girls had a very successful year, where they were triumphant in beating a strong Shamrock Gaels side in a nail-biting finish. At senior level football the year has finished up on a disappointing note with our senior men losing out in a relegation play off against Geevagh. I want to thank the Management team under the leadership of James Mitchell for the work and commitment they have shown

7 throughout the year. The huge commitment that a management team puts in often goes unnoticed especially when results are not coming our way. This in no way diminishes the effort and dedication of the management team. For the players it’s also disappointing after many hours of training and preparation during the year. I have no doubt our senior players and management have taken time to reflect on the year that’s gone and will aim to return our club to playing senior football in the very near future. On a more positive note our senior ladies have done the club proud during the year providing many enjoyable and competitive matches throughout. With a mix of experience and skill from the more senior members in the squad to the determination and enthusiasm of our younger ladies, the year overall has proved very positive. The positivity generated this year will greatly influence ladies’ football within the club. I want to thank the management of our ladies’ senior team under the direction of Gary Ward and Stephen Powell. I want to acknowledge the effort and commitment afforded by all our coaches at both underage and senior level. This is personal time given on a voluntary basis and it is very much appreciated. Our Executive team are responsible for the decision making within the club and thanks to all the members for their continued contribution and support. In particular I want to acknowledge our outgoing secretary Ciaran Mc Govern who for work reasons needed to step away from the role of Secretary as well as taking the opportunity to wish Thomas Murphy the best of luck as he takes over the position. I also want to thank Carmel Taheny and Avril East for their work once again on compiling this AGM booklet. During 2020 we have spent some time accessing where we are as a club and setting out our road map for the next number of years. We are in the later stages of developing our strategy for the next five years. This plan will set out a vision for our club for that period. Our focus during this time must be on key area’s such as • Development of our underage football with an emphasis on getting children from all areas of the club involved • Supporting our senior players as they endeavour to perform at the highest level • Further development of Ladies football within the club • Encourage the wider community to get involved in the club and demonstrate that the club has a role to play in the development of our community • Further development of our infrastructure and facilitates Finally, I would like to thank the membership of Eastern Harps for giving me the opportunity to be chairman of this great club as we look forward to returning to a level of normality during 2021

Seamus Hannon

Cathaoirleach

Secretarys Report

A Cathaoirleach agus a dhaoine uaisle, tá fáilte romhaibh go léir chuig ár gCruinniú Ginearálta Bliantúil don bhliain 2020.

Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to our AGM for the year 2020.

It’s hard to know where to begin when trying to describe the year that was 2020. One thing for sure, it turned out to be a much different year that what was anticipated at its beginning. With Covid-19 coming into our lives in March and disrupting almost everything, training and matches were suspended for large parts of the year. At one point, there were doubts about whether any games would get back up and running. However, as the year progressed and restrictions began to ease, GAA, along with other sports, was given the green light to recommence. This gave our teams a chance to complete their championships and ensured that there wouldn’t be as many blank spaces in this report as was once feared.

Like almost everything this year, our AGM has also been somewhat affected by Covid-19. As restrictions state that gatherings to the extent needed to host our AGM are not permitted, we have had to turn online in order to conduct this year’s meeting. This is just another slight adjustment we have had to make, in a year where we have learned to do a lot of things differently. Nevertheless, it gives me great pleasure to present this report on the activities of Eastern Harps GAA Club for 2020.

Before I begin, I want to pay tribute to my predecessor in the role of club Secretary, Ciarán McGovern, who regrettably had to step down in October. Ciarán had been fulfilling this role with distinction for the better part of two years, and there’s no doubt he’s left big shoes to fill. I wish to thank Ciarán for all the hard work he’s put into this role during his tenure and personally, for all the help and support he’s given to me while taking over the position. This role is a new challenge for me, and I hope it’s one I’ll be able to fulfil to somewhere near the standard that’s been set by Ciarán and my other predecessors.

2020 was a disappointing year on the playing field for our senior and junior men, as both teams were relegated to intermediate and junior B respectively for 2021. For the senior ladies, they will be disappointed, but should also be immensely proud of what they achieved. The ladies lost the Intermediate Championship final, but with such a young team, this was an incredible achievement and they will have gained a lot of experience from this.

For our underage teams it was a relatively successful year, with seven out of our eight underage teams reaching championship finals. There was success for the U12, U16 and minor girls, while the U14 girls, U16 boys and minor boys lost out in their championship finals. The U14 boys’ final and U12 boys’ semi-finals were firstly postponed due to inclement weather, and by the time there were pitches available again, the country had been placed in another lockdown and all club activities were ceased. With these games due to be played in early 2021, hopefully there may yet be more silverware from 2020 to report on.

Senior Men With no league games played before the Covid-19 stoppage of activity, there was only one warm-up game before championship action began once play resumed in June. This was a high scoring re-arranged Kiernan Cup quarter-final against Shamrock Gaels – a team we

9 would face again in the group stages of the championship – that Gaels went on to win by four points. This meant that all attentions turned to the championship where we were drawn in Group 1 alongside St. Mary’s, Shamrock Gaels, Tubbercurry and eventual finalists, Drumcliffe/Rosses Point. The record books will show that this team were to lose all their championship games this year, but results don’t always tell the full story, and there can be no doubting the players’ commitment and effort throughout the year. We were competitive in a number of our games and as Paul Judge notes in his comprehensive report of the senior team’s year in this year’s AGM Booklet, many of our games were still in the balance until the final quarter. However, the results don’t lie, and the reality is that we were unable to get over the line throughout the group stages and subsequent relegation stages of our championship campaign this year. After the completion of the group stage, Coolaney/Muliabreena awaited in the relegation semi-final, and subsequently Geevagh in the final. These, like many of this team’s games this year, were somewhat tight encounters where the concession of early goals in both games, unfortunately, left our lads with too much ground to make up. These results mean that this team will compete at the intermediate grade for next year. As this year’s senior league didn’t take place, we will again compete in Division 1 in that competition next year. This will give this team an opportunity to compete against some of the best teams in the county which will undoubtedly be good preparation for what’s to come in the Intermediate Championship. There’s no doubt that there’s lots of work ahead, and I hope this team’s players and management can have a much better year in 2021 and beyond. Many thanks to the work and commitment that was put in from this team’s manager James Mitchell and his backroom team of Paul Dwyer, Mikey O’Grady, Kevin Cryan, Paul Judge, Patrick Gallagher and Cathal O’Grady who left no stones unturned in their preparations. I would also like to thank Padraig Henry who was the Covid Officer for this team. Des Horan, once again, provided first aid our senior team as well as for our junior and minor teams. Des’s presence on the side-line is of massive benefit to all teams he’s involved with. I wish to sincerely thank Des on behalf of the club for his services this year, and I hope to see him continue in this much valued role in the future.

2020 was about much more than the events on the pitch, however, and this team can be very proud about the money that they raised for two very worthy charities – Ballymote Nursing Home and CLASP – during the first Covid lockdown. This fundraiser also provided entertainment on social media and was a great source of enjoyment during the uncertain times in which it took place. There will be more details about this later on in the report.

Junior Men With a number of players deemed ineligible as the season went on through competing at senior grade as well as some injuries, player availability hampered our junior team’s year. They were drawn in a group with Cloonacool, St. Patrick’s and St. Mary’s, with action on the pitch getting up and running on the 1st of August. The group got off to a tough start with heavy defeats at the hands of Cloonacool’s and St. Patrick’s respective first teams. It’s often tough coming up against clubs’ first teams at this grade and, on these occasions, the Skreen/Dromard and Cloonacool teams proved to be too strong. The players’ efforts on the day couldn’t be faulted, however, and a battling spirit was shown right throughout both of these games. St. Mary’s second team awaited in the third round in what turned out to be a very competitive game between two evenly matched teams. In a game that could have gone either way, our lads had the misfortune to be on the wrong end of a one point defeat with a last minute St. Mary’s goal deciding the game in their favour. Three defeats meant that a relegation final against Shamrock Gaels in Scarden would now have to be contested.

Unfortunately, this too ended in defeat meaning this team will compete in the Junior B Championship next year.

There’s no doubt having a competitive second team is of great benefit to any club, and it can prove to be a stepping stone to the senior team. I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope to see Eastern Harps competing at junior A level again in the near future. Thanks to the junior team’s manager Kevin Cryan and his backroom team for all their efforts throughout the year.

Senior Ladies Our senior ladies had a good year on the pitch which culminated in getting to the Intermediate Championship final in September. Due to their first three league games being cancelled for various reasons and the subsequent Covid-19 stoppage, this team’s first outings came in the form of challenge matches in June in preparation for the first round of championship. These challenge games as well as training – which was given a boost numbers-wise from the U16s and minors – stood this team in good stead, however, as they started their championship with a hard-fought win against Drumcliffe. This win set the tone for what was to come, and it was followed by home wins over Owenmore Gaels and Eoghan Rua as well as victory against C.T. Gaels in Tubbercurry. This four-game winning run ensuring this team went through their group unbeaten. With a final berth against Eoghan Rua secured, there was much excitement leading up to this game. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way as Eoghan Rua, who took advantage of a strong wind in the first half, ultimately left the girls with too much ground to make up despite a spirited second half comeback. With a number of young players making the step-up to adult football this year, hopefully this group will continue to develop as a team in the coming years.

There’s no doubt that playing any match behind closed doors, let alone a county final, can be an underwhelming experience. However, such were the conditions and regulations that were in place this year, and from where we were in March, it could be argued that it was a bonus that games got to go ahead in any circumstances. This didn’t mean that the club’s supporters from near and far didn’t get behind this team, however. In the lead up to the final, club supporters turned online in order to wish the girls well and offer their support virtually. This created a great buzz and went some way towards replicating the build-up to a county final that would be expected under normal circumstances. Thanks to everyone who made a video, put out flags and signs or put forward their message of support in any other way to wish this team well. Also, for supporters who couldn’t attend the games in person, Orla Dorrian’s excellently written match reports set the scene and superbly detailed the happenings on the pitch. Not only did Orla report on the senior matches, she also penned reports for U14, U16 and minor games with a few of these also being published in the Sligo Champion. Well done and thanks to Orla for providing these reports throughout the year. I’d also like to thank our excellent photographer, Aisling Stephenson, for taking many wonderful photos at many matches and other club ventures throughout the year.

Keeping players motivated and engaged in what was a stop-start year didn’t come without its challenges, I’m sure, so huge credit goes to this team’s manager Gary Ward, Stephen Powell and Covid Officer Deirdre Gillen for all their hard work.

Underage Football

Minor Boys A young minor team, with over half the panel still U16, competed in the B Championship this year. This team were competitive in all their games, and they can maybe count themselves a little unlucky as many of their losses came by the narrowest of margins. After this team came through their group of Owenmore Gaels, Curry, Geevagh/St. Michael’s and Shamrock Gaels with one win from four, they went into the Shield semi-final. A very good performance followed, where they travelled to Tourelstrane and had six points to spare over their opponents to see them progressing to the final. It was back to Tourlestrane GAA Park again for the final, which took place in early September. Unfortunately for our lads, they were once again on the wrong side of a tight game as they lost by one point on a score line of 3-12 to 2- 14. With a lot of this team still having at least one more year of minor football, hopefully there will be a lot more to come from them. Thanks to this team’s management of Michael Hannon, Errol Flynn, Colin McGill, James Soden as well as Covid Officer Linda Hannon for their hard work throughout the year.

Minor Girls The minor girls had a successful year, where they fulfilled their goal of retaining the B Championship. The girls were drawn in a group alongside St. Molaise Gaels, Shamrock Gaels, Geevagh (who withdrew from the championship early) and C.T. Gaels. They went on to record wins in three out of their four games with their sole loss coming against Shamrock Gaels in round two. While this was a disappointing defeat for this team, it was one which they would get a chance to make amends for as the season progressed. With the girls going on to secure their place in the final with a win over C.T Gaels in their final group game, they would get the opportunity to renew acquaintances with Shamrock Gaels, as they were set to meet them again in the championship decider. This game, which was played in perfect September conditions in Coola, turned out to be a great game of football, and the game was in the balance right throughout. However, the Harps girls eventually went on to win by two points to ensure that the title was heading back to Keash. This also gave rise to one of the standout photos of the year: this team and their management, with the B Championship trophy in tow, at the majestic caves of Keash. The experience these girls got from training with the seniors – and the experience some got from contributing on the pitch for this team – undoubtedly stood to them when it mattered most. Hopefully these girls will continue to develop as footballers as many make the step up to adult football next year. Thanks again to this team’s management of Gary Ward, Stephen Powell and Deirdre Gillen for all their efforts.

U16 Boys The U16 boys had a very mixed championship campaign. In the first round they were beaten by a very strong Calry/St Joseph’s team. In the second round our lads ran the eventual table toppers and local rivals Ballymote/Bunninadden to within one point. This result gave our lads great confidence and they went on to win the next two games quite comfortably. In the last round of games the U16s lost out to a stronger Easkey/St Farnan’s team. With that result, it meant the team finished in a three-way tie for third spot with Harps finishing in fourth place on score difference.

With the team finishing in fourth spot, it meant that the U16s qualified to the U16 B Shield semi-final where Castleconner were the opponents. In a very entertaining and end to end game, the Harps U16s held on for a two point win. The team would then face

Coolaney/Mullinabreena in the U16 B Shield final and the old phrase "goals wins games" comes to mind, and this was the case in this game. Coolaney/Mullinabreena scored one goal just before half time and two more goals in the first ten minutes in the second half. This just drained our lads and while they never recovered from these setbacks, they kept fighting until the end. Thanks to the U16 coaches which consisted of Errol Flynn, James Soden, Evan Lavin and Michael Hannon. It was a difficult year with Covid-19, but the lads prepared the team as best as they could and just fell short in the end.

U16 Girls The U16 girls had a successful year with their season ending on a high when they claimed the B Shield on home soil in September. With the league competition shelved due to the shortened year, this team’s sole focus was on the B Championship. They had to wait until their third game to record their first win, however, as St. Molaise Gaels narrowly defeated them in their opening round and Coolera/Strandhill came out on top in their second group game. Their fortunes began to change however, with a late rally seeing them overcome St. Nathy’s in their final group game. These results meant that the shield competition was the direction this team’s year headed in. After defeating St. John’s in the semi-final, their season ended the way it began, as St. Molaise Gaels awaited in the final. This time, the result went the way of the Harps girls on a wet day in Keash to see them crowned shield champions. As was the case with the minors, training with the senior ladies was great preparation for games against their own age group. Not only did this team train with the seniors and minors, many played important roles for both these teams in their respective championships also. All this bodes well for their future development. Thanks to this team’s management team of Benny Connolly, Nicole Cosgrove and Neil Molloy for their work with this team.

U14 Boys I mentioned briefly about the misfortune the U14 boys’ team had to endure this year (with their U14 A final being cancelled and subsequently put-off until next year) at the start of this report and Ronan Higgins provides more details of their year in our AGM booklet, so I don’t intend to cover their season in as much detail here. This team did manage to put in some impressive performances throughout the year, however, and recorded wins in all their games, many of which by big margins. Prior to the commencement of their championship, this group also tested themselves with a few challenge matches against teams from neighbouring counties. Hopefully this team can go on to achieve their goal of winning the U14 A title when the final is due to be played early next year. Many thanks to this team’s coaches Ronan Higgins, Keith Carty, Shaun Dorrian and Ross Donovan for looking after this team.

U14 Girls The U14 girls had a good year. Competing in the A Championship, this team were drawn in a group with Coolera/Strandhill, St. Nathy’s, C.T. Gaels, St. Mary’s and Eoghan Rua. The girls went on to win three out of their five matches with the wins coming against St. Nathy’s in round two as well as St. Mary’s and C.T. Gaels in rounds four and five respectively. These results meant that the girls had qualified for the A cup semi-final which was set to be a repeat of their round two group tie, as St. Nathy’s were once again their opponents. This game saw a repeat of the result also, with the girls recording their second win over this team to book their place in the final against Eoghan Rua. Unfortunately, the final didn’t go the way of the Eastern Harps girls, as Eoghan Rua went on to win by six points. While this result meant that the girls’ season on the pitch was completed, the team’s management had some other activities lined up for this group. The football field was swapped for the water, and a Saturday morning of stand-up paddle boarding was enjoyed by the players and management

13 in October. Thanks to this team’s management team of Eimear Henry, Dawn McGowan, Patricia McDonagh, Linda Kiernan and Pat Conheady for their efforts throughout the year.

U12 Boys As was the case last year, numbers were sufficient for two U12 teams to be entered in competitions this year. These teams were split up into an U12 and an U11 team (with a few U10s bolstering the U11s’ numbers). Once back into competitive action, these teams had a good year on the pitch, with each team having only one loss on their respective records. The story of these teams’ seasons is not quite finished, however, and as was mentioned at the start of this report, their respective semi-finals are due to be played early next year. As a token of the management’s appreciation for their players’ efforts during the year, the lads were presented with new, Connolly’s VW-sponsored training tops at their last training session. Thanks to these teams’ coaches Fintan McGowan, Damien Carty, Marcus Jackson, Peter Mitchell, Francis Candon, Seamus Hannon and Adrian Cooke for looking after them during the year.

U12 Girls The U12 girls had an enjoyable year and a one that ended in great fashion, as they secured the B Shield. After the stoppage in play, it was back to competitive action in July for this team with a busy schedule of five games over five consecutive weeks. This team went on to record wins in four out of these five games, as they came out on top against Owenmore Gaels, Ballisodare, St. Michael’s and Geevagh. Despite a loss in their opening round to Shamrock Gaels, this team went on to qualify for a semi-final against Drumcliffe. This game, played in Keash, was something of an epic with Drumcliffe eventually going on to win by two points after extra time. However, the disappointment of this defeat was somewhat softened by the news that the Shield final lay in store. This saw the girls facing Curry away in their final game of the season with the win for Harps ensuring this team picked up the Shield competition. Thanks to this team’s management of Mary Carty and Sam O'Gara, who were assisted at various times during the year by Linda Donovan, Sarah Gallagher and Jacintha O'Gara for looking after them during the year.

U11/U10/U8/U6 These age groups had a successful, and indeed a busy year despite the circumstances. This got started with a successful indoor winter programme which ran from October 2019 until March of this year. As well as this, a nursery programme for 4-6 year olds was held upstairs in the clubhouse during the months of November and December – this had the added benefit of helping to promote new registrations. When the pandemic hit, great efforts were made by these teams’ coaches to provide their young players with opportunities to continue to develop their skills at home, in a fun and safe way, during lockdown. Social media was utilised here with weekly skills challenges being put up as well as training and skills videos for the children to practice at home being sent out. Special thanks goes to Ross Donovan for the putting up the very popular weekly videos and for delivering prizes to many children. There’s no doubt that it’s of great benefit to have Ross’s expertise and guidance at this crucial age group for our club. Once the return to play was announced, these teams got going with outfield training which took place once weekly on Saturday mornings. Numbers were good, and with many new registrations averaged at seventy children per session. As well as training sessions, the U8s and U10s had games against neighbouring clubs: Bunninadden, Ballymote, Tourlestrane and Ballaghaderreen. The U11 girls competed in five nine-a-side league games also. Thanks to all the coaches who helped out at this level. There are too many to mention

14 here, however, Linda has provided details of all in her report in the AGM booklet. I hope to see all these coaches back for 2021 and as always, any new coaches are welcome.

G4M&O The “Gaelic4Mothers&Others” had a quieter year than usual on account of the restrictions. Monica Henry Beirne has provided a great report of this group’s year in our AGM booklet, so I don’t intend to cover their year in as much detail here. What I would like to say, however, is that it was that it’s great that this group, like all other groups, were able to have a playing year, even if it was a slightly shortened one. It was heartening that some new faces joined this group also. It should also be noted that they managed to squeeze one game in – against local rivals Shamrock Gaels – which proved to be an enjoyable occasion. Let’s hope 2021 has more in store for this very important group in our club.

County Commitments I’d like to congratulate Paul Taylor on managing the Sligo senior team for his second year this year. It was a year that wasn’t without its challenges, not least the recent decision that had to be taken to forfeit the Connacht SFC semi-final against Galway. As always, Paul conducted himself with the utmost professionalism and represented the club with distinction. Recently, Paul announced that he will be stepping down from this role, and I would like to wish Paul well with all his future endeavours. Paul’s expertise and knowledge is a valuable asset to our club, and there’s no doubt that it would be great to see Paul continuing to share his wealth of experience with other coaches and the younger generations of the club in the future.

Alan Davey represented the club by being part of the Sligo senior panel this year, as did Lisa Casey and Megan McCormack who were members of the ladies’ panel. On the underage side: Kyle Cosgrove and Tomás Tahney (U20); Matt Henry, Dylan Walsh and James Kiernan (minor); and Donal Mitchell (U16) all represented the club. For the ladies, the club was represented by: Orlaith Connolly (minor); Emma Hannon, Ríona Hannon and Maeve Molloy (U16); as well as Aoife Lyons and Tara McGowan (U14).

Development Even though a lot of the work had been done in 2019, there was still some work to be done in order to complete the clubhouse. The biggest task left is the installation of the lift which will significantly boost the clubhouse. Although the lift has to be installed, there were still other jobs to be done and thanks to the development committee, they are making sure all this work is done and will be done.

The development committee are always working hard behind the scenes and researching different grants and initiatives that the club could benefit from. The most recent grant success was the approval of a Rural Development Programme grant courtesy of Sligo LCDC. This grant requires the club to contribute 25% towards the project. This grant will enable the club to upgrade the building even more and make it more appealing for more than club use.

There are more exciting ideas that the development committee have, and hopefully 2021 will bring those ideas into reality. Thanks again to this very active committee who are always working tirelessly behind the scenes. Not even Covid-19 can stop this committee.

Eastern Harps’ fundraising challenge for CLASP and Ballymote Community Nursing Unit The senior men were only willing to get involved in a fundraiser for two local organisations when they were asked. As all charities and government funded organisations were running short on funds, the club organised a fundraising event for CLASP and Ballymote Community Nursing Unit. The senior men took on the role of participating in an event while keeping up their fitness for a possible return to play after Covid-19.

The senior management divided the senior group into two teams. The two teams were then paired off with a member from the other team. The event ran for two weeks with each member having to beat the other member’s distance covered over the two weeks. When the two weeks were over, the winner from each pairing donated a sum and the loser of each pairing had to donate double that sum. The event was made public on all our social media pages, and the progress of each team was also uploaded. The event was available for anyone to donate via a GoFundMe link. The event was just one of many events organised by GAA clubs throughout the country, but the Eastern Harps fundraiser made national media – most notably by the Hoganstand.com website – with thanks to a novel idea by Ross Donovan, when he and his son Michael decided to go on a go-kart run for the fundraiser. The two lads covered over 10km on a go-kart, and this made many headlines throughout the county and country.

Another highlight from the event was our Bord na Óg Chairman Mikey O’Grady running from his home to Drury’s Pub and back five times. This was a rare occurrence for Mikey: to go as far as Drury’s and not have a drink! This side event also got a lot of attention within the club, and thanks to Mikey for his contribution to the event.

When the event was over and the all the donations were totalled, the fundraiser gathered €13,216, which meant each charity received over €6,608 each. These funds were greatly appreciated by both organisations, and a presentation was made to both charities at the clubhouse on the 10th of June while maintaining social distancing guidelines.

Thanks to all those who donated to this fundraiser, and thanks to the senior lads who took on the challenge with both hands. Thanks also to anyone who contributed in any way to this fundraiser and who made it a massive success for two very worthy and local causes.

Bingo The local bingo in Gurteen hall every Friday night is a huge benefit to have in the area and to the club. The club’s portion of monies raised goes towards the repayments for the clubhouse loan, and without the money the bingo has raised for the club over the last number of years, it is safe to say the club would not be in as good of a position as it is in now. It is very important that everyone supports the bingo when they can, as this is a very important fundraiser for the club. Bingo is not everyone’s cup of tea but it is a cheap night out and, who knows, you might even win a few quid and as they say: “if you’re not in you can’t win”.

Like everything in 2020, the bingo was also dealt a blow due to Covid-19 in March, and had to regrettably close its doors. The bingo provides a great social outlet for many people in the community and outside of the community and needless to say that many of the patrons were very disappointed but understood the difficult decision to close the doors. When restrictions were lifted, the very active and creative committee came up with a novel idea of organising a drive-in bingo which began in August, and was only running for a few weeks until the

16 country was placed in lockdown once again. To organise a drive-in bingo during Covid-19 brought its own complications, but once again, the bingo committee made every effort to make it possible. Although it was only running for a few weeks, it lifted people’s spirits to just get out and mingle with others once again, albeit in a car park.

During the first lockdown, the Gurteen bingo committee remained active and organised a fundraiser for Pieta House. The fundraiser “Do a ‘K’ on the Longest Day” was held on the longest day of the year, the 21st of June. The bingo committee felt as there had been a fair share of tragedy in the community and amongst bingo patrons, that Pieta House was a worthy cause. It was great to see the Healthy Club committee hone in behind Gurteen Bingo and hold a walk to the Carrowkeel tombs on the longest day in partnership with Gurteen Bingo committee. Thanks to Eamonn Clarke, Dee Gillen and Amy McGovern who organised refreshments for after the walk to Carrowkeel tombs for the many people who took part. Thanks to Gurteen Bingo committee who raised a total of €2,815 for Pieta House, and thanks to all who donated for a great cause.

The club owes a sincere debt of gratitude to its volunteers who have given up most of their Friday nights over the past couple of years to run bingo on behalf of and for the benefit of the club. Thank you to the Eastern Harps bingo committee. Hopefully Gurteen bingo will be back in some form for 2021.

Healthy Club The Healthy Club had a lot of ideas for a healthy and active 2020, but once again Covid-19 put a stop to most of the Healthy Club’s plans.

Before Covid-19 took a hold on the country, our Healthy Club committee had held very successful rowing courses for men and Zumba classes for ladies. These all took place in the clubhouse, where we can successfully hold events like these now. Between the two courses, there was just short of 120 participants. The Healthy Club committee felt that Operation Transformation had run its course and therefore came up with new ideas, those being rowing and Zumba classes, which proved to be very successful. Thanks to Sligo Sports and Recreation Partnership who donated the rowing machines for the men’s rowing classes.

The Healthy Club only got to organise two monthly walks for 2020 due to inclement weather earlier on in the year and then Covid-19 restrictions hampered their plans to organise further walks. Thanks to all of the Healthy Club committee for their continuous work.

Pitch Shortly after the 2019 AGM, Eastern Harps GAA Club were awarded Sligo GAA Club Grounds of the Year and, honourably, Connacht GAA Club Grounds of the Year. This award was received in Bekan by a very steady group of Padraig Henry, Tommy Taheny, Sean Scott, Seamus Hannon, Louis Carty, Tom Murray and John Cryan. With these awards also came some prize money, and little did we know in 2020 that these funds would be badly needed. The club received €1,500 from Sligo GAA and €2,500 from Connacht GAA. Thank you to Sligo GAA and Connacht GAA for choosing Eastern Harps as Club Grounds of the Year. Thanks to the pitch committee for making this happen due to their continuous work that makes our grounds one of the best in the county and now in Connacht. As was the case in 2019, the club hosted championship games when restrictions were lifted and the club championship was given the all clear. The club hosted Ballymote and

Bunninadden in the first round of the Intermediate Championship and Shamrock Gaels and Tourlestrane in the Junior A Championship. The club also hosted the ladies’ Junior final between Shamrock Gaels and Calry/St Joseph’s. Thanks to the pitch committee for having the pitch in pristine condition on all occasions.

I’d like to thank a small committee of club members who took over looking after the pitch when our Fás workers were not permitted to attend due to Covid-19. It was very important that our pitch was looked after during this time and those club members jumped at the opportunity. Again, I’d like to thank the pitch committee for the tremendous work they do to have the grounds looking so well and the pitch in such good condition.

Feile Peil Na nÓg Shortly after the 2019 AGM, our 2019 U13 team won the U13 A Championship. This meant that the lads would be representing Sligo and, more importantly, representing Eastern Harps in Feile Peil Na nÓg. The team and their coaches would have been looking forward to their journey to Derry/Donegal for the 2020 Feile, but like everything else in the country, this event fell to the dreaded Covid-19. The team and their coaches were absolutely gutted when they learned they could not represent Sligo and Eastern Harps in the much anticipated Feile Peil na nÓg.

This event is a tremendous one for any young player to attend and it’s a massive achievement to qualify. For this group to lose out, through no fault of their own, is bitterly disappointing. There is no doubt that these lads will regroup when safe to do so, and that they will have many successful days ahead as long as they stay together and keep working hard as a team.

Referees At present we have three active referees in the club: Ciarán McGovern, Gavin Gairdner and Tom O’Connor. It is great to see members of out club taking up the mantle of this thankless but essential role. I would especially like to congratulate Ciarán who this year had the honour of refereeing the Intermediate Championship final between St. Molaise Gaels and Curry. Being chosen for a game of such importance is testament to Ciarán’s hard work and dedication as a referee, and I hope to see him get the opportunity to officiate many more such games in the future.

Annual Draw Congratulations to all the winners in our Annual Club Draw. There is €22,000 in prize money paid out every year with a first prize of €10,000. The money raised from this fundraiser is responsible for the day-to-day running of the club and is vitally important to the club. There is a list of the 2020 Annual Club Draw winners in the AGM booklet. I’d also like to thank those who have taken part and are currently in this draw. If anyone wishes to purchase a ticket for this draw, please contact any member of the executive.

Kerry McKeon Literary Awards Thanks to the McKeon family for allowing the club to proceed with the annual Kerry McKeon essay competition. This year, the McKeons sponsored trophies for each age group winner, and then the overall trophy was awarded to the best essay from all age groups. Again, with Covid-19, the participation numbers were slightly lower than previous years, but that did not stop it from being a very successful competition. Like a lot of events this year, the notification was sent to schools by email. Thanks and well done to all who took part and well

18 done to all the winners. Thanks to the McKeon family for allowing the club to remember Kerry.

Underage Medal Presentation In January, there was a medal presentation held for all the winning underage teams in 2019. This included the U12 Girls C League winners, U13 Boys A Feile winners, U14 Girls B League winners, U16 Boys B Championship winners and the Minor Girls B Championship winners.

Thanks to Enda Smith from Boyle GAA Club, and 2019 captain of the Connacht Championship winning team Roscommon, who presented the medals on the night to the boys. It goes without saying all of the kids were in awe to be presented a medal by someone who has had a very successful GAA career to date with a long list of GAA achievements on his CV at such a young age.

Thanks to Bernice Byrne from Geevagh GAA Club who also presented medals on the night to the girls. Bernice was a member of the Sligo ladies’ senior team in 2019. Bernice, like Enda, has also had a very successful GAA career to date with a long list of GAA achievements.

Covid-19 Assistance Group Shortly after the announcement that the country was in lockdown due to Covid-19, there was a group in place to represent the club. This group included volunteers who were willing to assist the community or the most vulnerable in any way possible be it a shop delivery or pharmacy delivery. The group had sixteen volunteers who were ready for action once they were called upon. To have these volunteers ready to help our community out, without any hesitation in the middle of a global pandemic, is a credit to the club and it proves that the GAA is there for all of the community.

Although our services were not required as much as we had expected, the club would like to thank the sixteen members who agreed to help our very own community and most vulnerable in a time of need.

Ollie Shannon RIP This year marked the twentieth year since the sad passing of Ollie Shannon. In order to mark this occasion, the club had organised an anniversary mass. However, with the restrictions that Covid-19 placed on gatherings, this could not go ahead as planned. Instead, it was acknowledged on our club’s social media pages with a posting of team photos as well an article written by the county board PRO about Ollie at the time of his death. This gave an opportunity to some of Ollie’s many friends to pay tribute to him and to share some of their memories of him on the occasion of his anniversary.

Sponsors Every year we are very lucky to have such valued support from our premium sponsors. Year after year, they support the club in any way possible, and I hope that their support will continue for the foreseeable future. If there are any more companies or organisations who would like to become a premium sponsor, please contact any member of the executive.

I’d like to thank the club officers and members of the executive committee of 2020 for the work they do for the club behind the scenes and the way they unselfishly give up their time

19 for the betterment of the club. It is so important to have an active and enthusiastic executive to guide the club in the right direction. Although in 2020 it wasn’t easy to be as active but, thanks to technology, the executive held its meetings online when restrictions would not allow indoor meetings. There is always room for more on the executive, especially those new to the area or those with new and fresh ideas that can benefit the club in the long run. If you are interested in joining the executive, please contact any member of the current executive for more information.

I’d also like to thank all coaches who through rain, wind or snow, coach our players to have fun and improve as players. This can sometimes be a thankless job, and while it is time consuming, it can be very rewarding also. In 2020, there was the added challenge of trying to keep everyone active during lockdown. Like everything else, training too went online, with drills and exercises being sent to senior players and all parents of underage players in order to keep active and fit during this time. Without our coaches, there would not be any teams, so again, thanks to all coaches. Also thanks to all the parents and players who attend all trainings and games. Without you, it would not be possible to field so many teams, and your support on the side line is vital to the players during games. If there are any other players or coaches out there that would like to get involved, please contact any of our existing coaches or executive members.

I mentioned the help and support that Ciarán has given to me since taking on this role at the beginning of this report. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the club’s assistant secretary, Paul Judge, for his help and guidance also. This has been greatly appreciated. To the many others who have assisted me since taking over this role, I also wish to thank you all. I’d also like to thank to Carmel Taheny for compiling this year’s AGM booklet as well as to Avril East who assisted with this. As always, having this booklet to accompany our AGM is something we are most grateful for.

Congratulations to all who got married, engaged and those who had new additions to the family in 2020. I would also like to offer sincere condolences to all those who suffered bereavements during the year. This year was an exceptionally difficult year for anyone who may have lost a family member, friend or neighbour. Just remember that we are a community, and as a community, we are all together. Mar a deireann an seanfhocal: ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na dhaoine.

I apologise if there are any omissions or errors in this report, and if there are any, I can assure you it is not intentional by any means.

Here’s to a fun, successful and healthy 2021!

I submit this report to our members for ratification at our AGM.

Tomás Ó Murchú Rúnaí Clairsigh an Oirthear

Senior Mens Report James Mitchell returned as Senior team manager for the 2020 season. His backroom team was made up of Paul Dwyer, Mikey O’Grady, Kevin Cryan, Paul Judge, Patrick Gallagher and Cathal O’Grady, Shane Gallagher and Des Horan. As we came together for the first time towards the end of 2019 to put plans in place for the 2020 campaign little did we know the kind of challenge we would face in the weeks and months ahead. Training commenced on December 22nd with a great turnout of players. The hard work continued both on the field and in the gym as we looked forward to starting our season with a Kiernan Cup game away to Shamrock Gaels in mid March. However by that time Covid 19 had taken hold throughout the country and all sporting activity along with collective training came to a halt indefinitely. With no action on the field the players began doing some individual running challenges. The highlight of these involved both players and management splitting into two teams and running a series of head to head challenges against each other over the course of two weeks. It was decided to use this challenge to raise some vital funds for two very important organisations in our local community and surrounding areas – Ballymote Community Nursing Unit and C.L.A.S.P. respectively. The challenge worked as follows, each individual runner up would donate double the amount of money of the winner. It was very competitive and gained great attention on social, local and national media with Ross and Michael Donovan’s homemade go kart making the headlines as well as the individual challenge of senior team selector Mikey O’Grady, who decided to run from his home to Drurys Lounge in Monasteraden and back five times!!! A total of €12,740 was raised with both organisations (mentioned above) receiving €6,370 each. Thanks to everyone for their generous donations and support of this particular challenge. It was both enjoyable and successful.

Collective training finally resumed on 26th of June with the first round of Senior Championship the main focus. We were drawn in Group 1 alongside St Mary’s, Tubbercurry, Shamrock Gales and Drumcliffe. We played Shamrock Gales in the re- arranged quarter final of the Kiernan Cup on Saturday July 18th. After a high scoring game we were defeated by 4 points, 2-17 to 3-10. There wasn’t much time to reflect on the result as attention turned to the following Sunday and St Mary’s in Round 1 of the Championship. In an evenly contested game for the most part we lost our way in the final quarter and the concession of two late goals saw us lose the game 3-12 to 0-10, a scoreline that didn’t reflect our overall performance. It was another quick turnaround as we faced Tubbercurry in round two a week later. It was a game in which we had a very poor first half and at half time the game looked over as a contest. To their credit the lads fought back in the second half playing with much more drive and purpose. The game was there for us but Tubbercurry got in for a late goal to seal the win, 2-15 to 0-15. It would be three weeks before we would play again against Shamrock Gales in Round 3. It was a dogged affair and a game that never really took off at Championship pace. Gales were the winners on a scoreline of 0-14 to 0-9. We faced Drumcliffe in Round 4. Having already been consigned to the relegation playoffs regardless of the result this was one of our better performances of the championship. Unfortunately we again fell away in the final quarter and lost out 0-13 to 0-7. Coolaney Mullinabreena were our opponents in the relegation semi- final. It was a tense game with both teams knowing the importance of a victory here. We conceded a sloppy goal early on and had a goal chance of our own cleared off the line. With time almost up and trailing by 3 points we hit the post with a speculative goal attempt. Despite battling to the final whistle we couldn’t claw back the deficit and were defeated by three points, 1-12 to 0-12. This result left us facing into the relegation final where we would come up against Geevagh in a winner take all encounter. It was a game played in terrible conditions and Geevagh adapted to them much better on the evening. The decision to award a somewhat debateable penalty against us early on gave Geevagh the perfect start and they never looked back. It was very much a below par performance from us as we struggled in the conditions throughout. Our fate was sealed at the final whistle as we were defeated by 1-9 to 0-6. This result also meant that we would drop down to Intermediate Championship for 2021. There is, and will be obvious disappointment among management, players and club supporters with the way the 2020 season ended. It must be said that both players and management had hoped for much more in 2020 but it was not to be. There was a huge commitment put in by all involved and while results didn’t reflect that, it cannot be overlooked. It is now time to plan for the 2021 season where we must put in the hard work required and strive for a return to the Senior Championship.

Paul Judge

Junior Mens Report We travelled to Bunninadden for our first junior match of 2020 where we took on Cloonacool in round 1 of the junior A Championship. It was going into the unknown in terms of trying to pick a balanced team as we had no games before this in 2020. We are Junior B in the league, and there are no warm-up competitions for Junior B league teams. We had 20 players togged. We had a few debutants and also a few experienced players. We trailed 0:04 to 0:00 at half time and were well in the game. A 2 goal blitz right from the throw-in by Cloonacool meant we were always on the back foot. A 10-minute sin-bin and a red card in the second half meant we were always struggling from then on. We also lost Colm Duffy at centre forward due to injury early in the first half. I couldn't fault the players as they worked right until the very end. I feel with 15 men the scoreline wouldn't have been as bad as 5:12 to 1:06. John Lynch impressed at full-back. Martin Mulligan made his adult debut and could not be faulted. Mikey Brennan came on at half time and played well. In round 2, we faced a very young, energetic St. Pats team. We were unable to field a player as he had played senior against Tubbercurry the week previous. We had 19 players togged. From the throw-in, we were on the back foot. St. Pats raced into a commanding lead. We had two injuries and had to make two substitutions. St. Pats went on a goal-scoring spree and ended up with seven goals. The team battled well in the second half and gave all they had against their opponents first team who ran out winner on a scoreline of 7:19 to 1:05. Our final group game was against St. Marys second team, which was played in Riverstown community park. We had 18 players togged. This was a great game of football between 2 evenly matched teams. There was never too much between the sides. We were two points down with 7 minutes to go, and we reeled off four points in a row to go two up deep into injury time. With the last throw off the dice St. Marys played a high ball into our full-back line. Unfortunately, with the last kick of the game, their corner forward managed to steer the ball through 26 players into the bottom corner of the net and leave the final score at 2:12 to 1:14. There were some good positives to be taken from the game with the lads never say die attitude and some good individual performances. The final game for the junior team was a relegation final which seen us take on Shamrock Gaels in Scarden. It was probably the first year in a long time that we used so many players for senior, 24 in total. We used 20 players in senior in the previous year. It meant that it ate into player availability for this game. We were also hampered by the fact that Luke Taheny badly hurt his knee the week before. It left us with a depleted squad of 18 players togged. We lost the toss which meant we were playing into a gale force breeze in the first half. Shamrock Gaels had built up too much a lead, and we couldn't claw it back in the second half. It now leaves us in Junior B championship for 2021. It is known that senior player numbers are very tight for two teams. However, I feel a junior team is vital for the retention of players in the future. I think it will be especially crucial for younger players coming up from minor that they have league and championship games in the Junior grade to play and this can be used a stepping stone inside senior football.

Kevin Cryan

Under Age Reports Minor Boys Our minor team competed in the “B” championship in 2020. Considering the COVID19 pandemic it was great to get some game time for this panel. We had a very young panel with over half of the panel also under 16. We were drawn in a group of five teams with four championship games. We lost to Curry in our first game on July 17th. We lost by the narrowest of margins in our second game against a very strong Geevagh/St Michaels team. We were victorious in our third game against Owenmore Gaels however we lost our final group game to Shamrock Gaels. We performed very well in all our group games and only lost some games by a single point margin. We qualified for the shield semi-final away to Tourlestrane. The team put in a great performance and came away with a 6 point victory in an excellent game. We then played Curry in the shield final and after a great performance we were very unfortunate to lose our final by a point. Congratulations and well done to all the panel on some memorable performances this year. Thanks to our covid officer Linda Donovan who had a very busy year. Coaches for the minor panel were Errol Flynn, Colin Mc Gill, James Soden and Michael Hannon. Michael Hannon

Under 16 Boy’s Due to the year we are having there was no leagues scheduled for underage this year so straight to championship. We had returning management Errol Flynn and Michael Hanon and new additions Colin McGill and James Soden.

We kicked off our championship away to Easkey/St.Farnans and came out the wrong side of a 14 point difference. A lighter team in terms compared to the much more physical teams in the championship we started to show our football from now. A few new additions of players made available from the U-14 panel bolstered the team and we had two very impressive home victories against St Johns and St Molaise Gales. An away game to table toppers Ballymote\Bunninaden could of given us a great chance of reaching the later stages. The performance of the year by this team turning around an 8 point deficit to be ahead by two going to the whistle but a long driven ball and an outstretched foot put it into the net narrowly defeating us. We finished the group stage with a heavy loss to Calry. Going into the shield we were away to Castleconnor in the semi-final. Only a narrow victory in the end of two points,but a very impressive 3-16 to notch up and some brilliant point scoring from a distance. We faced Coolaney/Mullinabreena in the final on the 25th of September. It was a game that we couldn’t find our rhythm and Coolaney controlled from start to finish. We had our patches showing off some great football that we played throughout other games but it just wasn’t enough.

Errol Flynn

Under 14 Boys Our U14 boys campaign commenced on the 27th of February this year. Our first training session was an indoor session in Gurteen Hall. We started with a panel of twenty-six. This was to be our special year; this was to be the year that we were not going to let anything overcome us as a team to be crowned U14 A champions. This title has eluded Eastern Harps for 20 years. The waiting game had gone on long enough and we had an incredibly talented panel of players that had the ability to capture this coveted title. The end of February brought dreadful weather conditions and we were unable to train outdoors. We managed to complete four indoor training sessions before we got introduced to Covid-19. This little word introduced us to a whirlwind of lockdowns and non-contact training sessions. The long-anticipated Féile Peile na nÓg trip to Derry & Donegal for these players was also in jeopardy. By the beginning of April, the Féile tournament had been cancelled. This really disappointed the parents and coaches, but particularly our players who had won the right to represent Sligo in this competition in 2019. We felt we had the ability to represent our club and county very well in this competition. However, it was not to be. We decided to put together some skills challenges for the lockdown in which players could partake at home. Ross, Keith and Shaun put these together every week for May and June. On the 2nd of July we were cleared to commence training once again with some guidelines to follow. Brendan McHugh stepped up to become our Covid Officer. With health questionnaires and E-Learning modules becoming the norm to participate in training, it was a challenging few days to get us all up to speed. We would like to thank all parents for their efforts in making this process as streamlined as possible. We would also like to thank Brendan McHugh for his diligent work as Covid Officer of our team. We managed to get two more training sessions in at the beginning of July before beating Shannon Geals of Roscommon and Ballaghaderreen of Mayo in challenge games. With a few more training sessions under our belt, we managed to get a challenge game against Claremorris towards the end of July. This Claremorris team were the Mayo champions from the previous year. We knew this was going to be our toughest test as a team to date. In what can only be described as mesmerizing to watch on the day, we played incredible free flowing football to dispose of Claremorris by a margin of 15 points at the final whistle. The first round of our much-anticipated championship was against Drumcliffe/Rosses Point in Keash on July 30th. We managed to see them off with a 17-point victory. In our second round we played Enniscrone/Kilglass away and recorded a 25-point win. We then headed to St. Marys for our third round and defeated them by 21 points. In our two remaining games we defeated Geevagh/St. Michaels and St Molaise Gaels by large scores. As this meant we finished top of the group stage of the competition, we qualified for the Championship final which was set for 4th of October.

U 14 Boys 2020

Under 12 Boys

On March 1st the U12 boys started back. We trained upstairs in the clubhouse due to the inclement weather and unavailable pitches. We the started on the pitch on the 8th of March. Which was decided because with the large numbers we’d be able to field two teams, an U12 team and an U11 team, although the U11 team would have to be propped up with U10 players. We had just started back onto the pitch when we had to take a break due to Covid-19 (13th of March). We participated in the County Challenge which was overlooked by County Games manager, Liam Og. The U12s and U11s partook in a skills challenge every week leading into summer. The young men seemed to enjoy these but it was no substitution for actual games. Actual play resumed on the 30th of June, which started with challenge matches against neighbouring teams, such as Boyle, Ballaghdreen and Charlestown. These games held us in great stead for our early matches, which resumed on the 21st of July with a game against our neighbours Ballymote/Bunninadden. Both our teams had a victory on this evening. The games continued every second week with both teams finishing 2nd in their group. The two teams only lost one game each, with the U12s facing a strong St. Mary’s team, and the U11’s facing a strong St. John’s team. We faced into our semi-final which, at the point of writing, has yet to be played.

We were contemplating how to reward the lads for such a great effort put in all-year, with the League games and the County Challenge. Considering we could not travel anywhere due to Covid, it was decided that we would present the lads with training tops, but thankfully Marcus Jackson stepped in and organized Connolly VW to sponsor not only training tops, but a new set of jerseys, which we are most grateful for… Now all we need is games to resume so we can show these off.

Tremendous credit is due to the lads whose skill levels have improved immensely throughout the year. No doubt we will see them all back on the pitch, and a huge thanks to all the parents for their help and support throughout the year, and the hard dedicated work done by the coaches: Fintan McGowan, Damien Carty, Marcus Jackson, Peter Mitchell, Francis Candon, Seamus Hannon and Adrian Cooke.

Fintan McGowan

Eastern Harps Ladies G,A.A. Ladies Chair Report Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to start by welcoming you all here to this year’s club Annual General Meeting.

In what was a very strange year, I am glad to say it was one that was full of success on the ladies side. Firstly, I would like to say a massive thanks to our Ladies Club Secretary, Catherine McGill, whose help all year was invaluable again this year. Catherine has put in a massive effort this year for all the ladies teams In the club and no stone was left unturned. I greatly appreciated her help throughout the year. Catherine had a big part to play in the Eastern Harps five year plan this year, pulling together information from coaches and players and club members to put together a plan for the future (this work is on going). This is an important plan for the club to build on the success we have had and to ensure it continues in the future.

From a playing perspective we have had a year of some great achievements and some proud performances. Our Minor team won the B Championship for a second year in a row. Our U16s won the shield in the second division and our U12’s team brought more silverware home again winning the B Shield Final. Despite losing in county finals at u14 and intermediate, there was some immensely proud performances from both teams and were unlucky to get across the line.

It was great to see new faces this year with the addition of new coaches and COVID officers coming in at all age groups. It was looking very tight at the start of the year for coaches and it took a few months into the year to assign coaches to all age groups. I hope to see all these faces again in the new year and with the tight numbers in coaches on the ladies side it would be great to see more new faces in 2021.

In my first year as Manager of our senior ladies team, I was grateful to get the help of Stephen Powell as assistant coach. The team came together in January and with Mother nature not being on our side, with heavy flooding and pitches not being playable, we were very grateful of having the new Club house for circuit training with Anne Wynne. This went on for 6 weeks and lead us back onto the field in February. Thanks to Padraic Henry for organising Anne Wynne for the few weeks as it really stood to the team at the start of the year. With our first 3 fixtures of the year cancelled due to weather, it was very frustrating going into the first Covid19 lockdown having played no game. Thankfully, we got back on the field in the summer and got to play a very entertaining intermediate championship. With some gutsy performances the ladies team got to the intermediate final, winning all their matches to get there. Despite the brave performance in a windy Markievicz Park, our ladies came out the wrong side on the day. With a young team it is clear to see they have what it takes going forward and look I forward to 2021.

For the second year in a row our Minor Team were successful in bringing home silverware in the B Championship. Despite a nervy start to their campaign, losing to Shamrock Gaels in a game they were fully control of, they bounced back to beat that same team in the county final, in what was one of the most enjoyable games all year. Holding on to win by 2 points they were able to end the year on a high and bring that confidence into 2021.

I would like to give a massive thanks to all that helped out with Senior and minor teams all year. Thanks to Stephen Powell, Dee Gillen, Benny Connolly, Pat Conheady, Shane Gallagher and Anne Wynne. Also, a special thanks to all involved in creating a buzz around the club in a few weeks leading up to the final, to all the Parents and supporters for their kind words leading up to the final. I wish to thank Catherine McGill, Seamus Hannon and Padraig Henry, to name a few for creating a great atmosphere on social media and around the club.

Our U.16 Girls were managed byBenny Connolly, Neil Molloy and Nicole Cosgrove. Being placed in a very competitive division in Championship, they were unfortunate to miss out on a semi-final spot. However, they were able to put in a brave performance in the shield final and come out winners. The management and girls put in an excellent years work and they are very talented group Footballers. Having trained as a group with Minor and Seniors all year, the panel will have gained valuable experience and will be a strengthened in teams going forward. Thanks to the Management for all their efforts and commitment all year.

Being placed in Division 1 for the 2020 season, the U14 team and management faced a tough task ahead. Winning 3 of their 5 games they were placed in a semi-final against neighbours St Nathys. In what was a very exciting game the girls came out victorious and now earned a spot in the Division A Final against a very strong Eoghan Rua team. Despite the girls best efforts they were unable to get on top of a very good Enough Rua team. It is a great honour to get to a Division A final and credit goes out to the players and management in getting this far. We can look forward to the future with this group of players coming up through the ranks. Thanks to the management of Eimear Henry, Dawn McGowan, Patricia McDonagh, Linda Kiernan & Pat Conheady.

With Samantha O’Gara taking charge for a second year I didn’t have any worries about the level of enjoyment and commitment the U12 girls panel would have. Joined by Mary Carty in February, they started with Zumba classes which was a great success with the girls. Linda Hannon, Sarah Gallagher and Jacinta O’Gara joined the teams set up with the introduction of COVID regulations. Winning 3 of their 5 games earned them a place in the semi-final. An entertaining game that ended in a draw and in extra time the girls were unfortunate to just lose out on a place in the final. Despite the loss the girls were able to bounce back and win the Shield Final and end the year on a high. Thanks to the management for all their work and dedication to the girls all year.

It was great to see new faces out for the G4MO’s again this year. Although it was a short year, they had been training on Tuesday evenings and had one game against Shamrock Gaels with a bit of fun and refreshments after. Thanks to Monica Beirne, the G4MO coordinator for all the work done all year.

Thanks to Orla Dorian and Aisling Stephenson for keeping us entertained with top class reports and pictures throughout the year. It is great to have these memory’s to look back on in the years to come.

Thanks to Linda & Ross and the coaching committee for all their help throughout the year.

In a year where supporters had to support from outside the field gates, Thanks to those parents and supporters who have supported our teams and encouraged dedication to training

28 and respect for management etc. Hopefully in 2021 we will be all back on the side lines to cheer the girls on. Thanks to the Patrick Ward and all the staff in the Coach House for the food and refreshments after the Senior County Final. Thanks to all the parents who helped out after all the underage county finals with food and refreshments for the girls. Thanks to Gary Smith and his bus for a great service to the Intermediate Final.

Thanks to Ladies PRO Lisa Casey and Catherine McGill for all the regular updates on Social Media and for the build up to finals etc.

The club wish to thank Helena Sherlock and the Sherlock family for their continuous generous sponsorship for the Eastern Harps senior Ladies Teams.

Lastly, Thanks to Seamus Hannon & Ciaran McGovern for their help and continued support all year. Here’s to continued success and enjoyment for our club in 2021!

Gary Ward

Senior Ladies Following the decision of the 2019 Senior Manager Gabriel Gallagher to step down after the 2019 season, I (Gary Ward) decided to step up to the plate and accept the challenge of the role. After a few weeks of trying to develop a back-room team, we secured Stephen Powell to come onboard too. The first training session of the of the year took place in late January and the numbers looked promising. With our first fixtures planned for 23rd of Feb the girls were looking forward to getting back on the field and make a winning start to 2020. Unfortunately, the weather did not help things, with our 1st game of the spring league cancelled due to weather. Things got worse when our second game was handed to us due to the opposing team not being able to field a team. Third time lucky, unfortunately not!! Our third game of the year was to be the 1st round of the league against St Michaels, but again mother nature prevented this from happening with no pitch being playable. This was a difficult patch of the year with matches and training sessions being cancelled but credit to all the girls the numbers still held together for any training session we did have. This leads us onto the COVID-19 battle. With no games played pre-COVID-19 , it was hard to make sure the interest would still be there whenever and if ever we got back playing. We tried to do what we could through the initial lock down, through work out videos etc. Thankfully, we got the go ahead to get back out training in June with the prospect of a short window of getting our championship played. It was agreed that the U16, Minor and senior groups would all train together to keep the number high and it worked well with the numbers to trainings at a constant 20+ players. Our backroom team ramped up with Dee Gillen stepping in as Covid Officer and both Benny Connolly and Neil Molloy (U16 management) coming in to help out at sessions. Knowing we have very little football played prior to COVID, we knew we had a lot of making up to do. We started straight away with organising challenge matches to get as much football as possible before our first championship game on 26th July. We had 3 challenge matches prior championship, against Boyle, Western Gaels & Curry. We could see from our first game there was a lot to work on, and it is fair to say all the girls got a good wakeup call in the game against Boyle. Thankfully, we picked up on our performances from then on with a brave performance against Western Gaels and a good Win against Curry to lead us into the championship. With a few injuries coming into the first round of the championship on 26th July, away to Drumcliffe, we knew this was going to be one of the bigger battles of the year. However, we had worked well up to that date and felt confident going into the game. Under blue skies in Drumcliffe, we took control in the first half with a deserved lead of 4 points at the break. However, Drumcliffe were not going to lie down, with a big break in the first 10 mins of the second half they outscored us 3-4 to 0-0. Now 9 points down we knew we now had a game on and a big mountain to climb. With an injection of youth and fresh legs from a couple of subs we started to claw back the points. With a couple of great goals we managed to get back on top with a few minutes to go. Drumcliffe battled back but thankfully we were able to hold on to a one-point win.

The following week was a bye which then lead us on to a home game against Owenmore geals on 9th August. A physical game ensued with 2 of our starting 15 picking up injuries. It was end to end football for 50 mins of the game, but Eastern Harps held on well in the last 10 mins to push on and win. On to the next game on the 16th August, Home to Eoghan Rua, to what would work out to be a precursor to the final a few weeks later. Knowing Eoghan Rua had improved massively from previous years due to acquiring transfers of a few players from St Farnans, we knew we would have a massive task ahead. Another physical match took place with Eoghan Rua looking the stronger team in the first half. Knowing a place in a final was 30 mins away, Eastern Harp fought back in the second half to secure a 9-point win. The score board did not do justice to what was a physical, entertaining match. Going into the last game against CT Gaels, we knew we had secured the place in the final but wanted to make sure the winning streek continued. Running out a convincing win in Tubbercurry which left the team unbeaten in 4 games. There was a 3-week gap between the last match and the final on the 12th Sept in Markievicz Park. The weeks leading up to the final there was a great buzz in the club and amongst the players and management. There was a mood of confidence and relaxation in the build up. With Covid regulations holding back supporters from traveling to the game it was going to be a Final like no other. We headed off from Keash and got settled into the large eerie atmosphere of an empty Markievicz Park. Battling against a strong wind in the first half, we struggled to get a hold of the game from the start. Eoghan Rua took every advantage of the strong wind and with a clatter of goals early in the first half it was clear they were out for revenge and looking to close the game off early. Eastern Harps fought bravely in the second half but unfortunately were unable to get back on top. And so, our 2020 season had come to an end after the defeat in the Co. Final. Although coming up short in the final we must be proud of the entire panel who got back to a Co. Final. The management would like to state once again their thanks and appreciation to all the players for their effort, commitment and dedication throughout the year. It was also great to see the introduction of a number of young players to the senior panel and indeed some of them broke into the team while others pushed hard to make it. With another batch of young players making the step up in 2021 to join the players from 2020 it certainly puts the club in a good place going forward. In a year like no other, I would like to thank all that helped out throughout the year. A special mention goes out to the following for all their help and dedication to the team – Stephen Powell, Dee Gillen, Benny Connolly, Nicole Cosgrove, Neill Molloy, Pat Conheady and Shane Gallagher. Also, a big thank you to all that created a buzz around the club in a few weeks leading up to the final, to all the Parents and supports for their kind words leading up to the final. I wish to thank Catherine McGill, Seamus Hannon and Padraig Henry, to name a few for creating a great atmosphere. Thanks to Patrick ward and all in the Coach house for looking after us after the final.

Finally Thank you to Orla Dorian for her great match reports on each of the games. It was great reading and a credit to have someone with such a talent in the club.

Gary Ward

Minor Ladies Managed by Gary Ward, Stephen Powell and Deirdre Gillen, our COVID officer. The Minor Ladies team had a great year as they set out to retain their Minor B Championship title. These girls started training with the senior ladies at the start of February. Bad weather prevented two senior challenge matches from being played, where a number of minor girls would have got a game. Training continued until the 6th of March until the COVID-19 restrictions came into effect and training didn’t resume until the 29th of June. When training re-commenced there was a lot of changes that had to made, which included filling out a health questionnaire online before every training and match, this was policed by our COVID officer. Normally this time of year and the minor championship would be kicking off, with the girls having played in the U-16 and senior leagues. The girls continued to train hard until their first of four matches which began on the 29th of July against St. Molaise Gaels. We enjoyed home advantage on the summers evening although with the COVID restrictions we were without dressing rooms and this was to continue throughout the season. The girls got off to a good start and maintained a comfortable lead throughout the game. It was setting up to be a good championship. Our next outing was always going to be a difficult one against rivals Shamrock Gaels. Our girls dominated the first half and into the second half, however as conditions worsened the girls were battling the wind and took the foot off the pedal, making unforced which Shamrock Gaels capitalised on. Shamrock Gaels finished strong winning by two points, the 13 a-side running game suited them at the end. This was a game we all felt we should have won which left the girls devastated. We knew coming away from that game it wasn’t going to be easy to retain the title. Next up Owenmore Gaels on the 30th of August, who failed to field a team the week before. After losing their previous game the girls went out with a point to prove and at half time they were well in control of the game. Several changes were made at half time which gave some of the younger girls an opportunity to get some game time. As Geevagh pulled out of the championship early in the season, the girls faced a young CT Gaels team in the last round. This was another game that the girls started off strong as the knew a place in the final was up for grabs. In the second half things got more intense as CT Gaels subbed on some of their younger girls, who upped the intensity and put our girls under pressure. The experience of the older girls on the Eastern harps team proved too strong for them in the end and they ran out deserving winners, securing their place in the final.

Next up was the final against Shamrock Gaels, the only team to have beaten us this season. With some of the girls having to play in the intermediate final the week before hand, the

32 experience proving to be invaluable for the minor final on Sunday the 20th of September. The minor ladies travelled to Coola early Sunday morning with perfect conditions, including the pitch. Shamrock Gaels unbeaten in the minor championship and having won the Junior championship the week before the girls were looking to do the double. Harps on the other hand having lost the intermediate final and also having lost to Shamrock Gaels earlier in the season, the girls had a score to settle. Both teams started very strong trading scores. Harps went on to dominate possession but failed to gather a comfortable lead as they were denied by the woodwork seven times, including a missed penalty. This didn’t stop Eastern Harps, who never let their heads drop and with a dramatic save form the Harps keeper in the dying minutes we held on to win by two points. It was a great way to end the season with the Minor B cup heading back to Keash and even making it as far as the caves!!

Stephen Powell

Under 16 Girls

In what turned out to be a very strange year, the girls initially started training early March in preparation for the league which was to start on the 25th March. However, as we all know, this was short lived as all proceedings were brought to a halt before any ball was kicked in anger. After a frustrating 3 months, the green light was given that training could resume ahead of the resumption of play. The girls eventually got up and running with their training on the 29th June. The girls trained for the majority of the year with the Minor Girls and the Intermediate Ladies team and as the year progressed the benefit of training with the older girls began to show. We had a challenge match against St Michaels in Ballintogher on 13th July and ran out comfortable winners. Although there was league this year due to the shortened year, Expectation was high ahead of the B Championship, which was to start on the 23rd July.

Unfortunately, we did not get off to the start we had hoped for in our first championship match against St Molaise Gaels, although the girls probably deserved to win the game, their concentration slipped in the final minute and conceded a late goal to end up losing by 2 points. From there on, we were always up against it to progress to the cup final and due to injuries and girls being away we unfortunately came up against a stronger Coolera/Strandhill the following week. Our 3rd game saw us coming up against St Nathys and the girls showed great determination after being behind most of the game to come back and win it late on. This then gave us a chance to make the cup final, however, due to circumstances beyond our control, the county board decide to pressure us into doing the right thing and we ended up in the Sheild Semi-Final. Here we overcame St Johns in a tough game in Gurteen which set up the Shield Final against St Molaise Gaels in Keash on Saturday 5th September.

On an atrocious day weather wise, the girls blitzed St Molaise Gaels in the first half. A strong second half performance meant the result was never in doubt. The girls fully deserved their win and Captain Maeve Molloy lifted the Cup as the girls were crowned Under 16B Shield Winners. Many of the girls also represented the club at minor level this year and indeed a few of them played important roles for the Intermediate team this year.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Neill and Nicole for all that they done this year for the girls and a huge thanks as well must go to Gary and Stephen for all the work at training and indeed all the intermediate panel for allowing the girls to train along with them and all the encouragement they gave the girls this year.

Benny Connolly

Under 14 Girls The season, like every other team’s seasons this year, began in mid-June. We were placed in the A Championship along with St. Marys, St. Nathys, Eoghan Rua, CT Gaels and Coolera/Strandhill. For a start we had to adhere to strict health guidelines, including sanitizing gear, records of all attendees at training who in turn had to submit declarations that they were healthy and fit to play. First up was Coolera/Strandhill in Keash on a bright Sunday evening, unfortunately we were defeated in this game. We went on to beat St Nathys in the second round and lost to a strong Eoghan Rua side by 15 points in our third escapade on Castleconnor pitch. We were victorious in our last two championship games coming out on top of both St Marys & CT Gaels. This placed us in a semi-final against our neighbours St Nathys and in a very exciting game we came out victorious and thus qualified for the A cup final against Eoghan Rua. Having already suffered a defeat to these girls earlier in the year we knew we had a big task in hand, and despite the girl’s best efforts, we lost to a physically stronger team and were defeated by 6 points in the end. Huge credit is due to this great bunch of girls. We started off with a panel of 21 and managed to increase it before the year finished. The girls enjoyed some treats after one of their championship games in Keash, a kind gesture from one of the parents. The girls also received hot chocolate & brownies after a tough training session, a small well done for having reached the County A Final. The girls showed great determination and commitment all year and thank you to the parents for all the miles put in to fulfil each training and match fixtures all over the county. A word of thanks also to the u12 girls who showed no hesitation to play on the full pitch when they were called upon. We would also like to thank Pat Conheady whose profession was called upon during the year. We finished the year with some food and refreshments outside the clubhouse, thank you to the club for providing the food. The girls also enjoyed an end of year day out where we went Stand-Up Paddle Boarding on October 3rd in Doorly Park. Again, big thanks to the parents for making the trip down with the girls. We were delighted with all the support we received from the supporters, to Aisling for all the photographs, Orla for her match reports, the various scoreboard operators and the pitch committee for having the pitch in pristine condition for our games. It was a short year, but we

34 packed as much into as we could. The girls improved their fitness and skill levels immensely during the year and most of all they bonded as a team and it really showed on the pitch come the end of the year. We could not have asked for more from these bunch of girls. Management: Eimear Henry, Dawn McGowan, Patricia McDonagh, Linda Kiernan & Pat Conheady.

Under 12 Girls The U12 girls were coached by Mary Carty and Sam O'Gara, and assisted by Linda Donovan and later by Sarah Gallagher and Jacintha O'Gara when COVID19 guidelines were introduced. The year was kick-started back at the end of February with a Zumba class in the Clubhouse. The girls had great fun and the plan was to have other classes throughout the year to help improve fitness levels whilst enjoying the activity. However, then COVID19 happened! From the 5th May we commenced weekly video training sessions (over 6 weeks) sent to players to do at home. We saw a great up-take rate on these as players sent through photos of themselves doing the drills. On 3rd July we finally got back onto the pitch to commence weekly training and prepare for a set of fixtures which entailed 5 games over 5 consecutive weeks. We also managed to schedule 3 challenge games during this time also. The team was made up of 16 girls in the U12 age group and 5 girls joined us from the older girls of the U10 team. All players who attended games got game time. Our fixtures started with a home game to Shamrock Gaels. Unfortunately Shamrock Gaels had a very strong team and we struggled to overcome the strength and depth of their team. Our next game was played in Gurteen where we met Owenmore Gaels. They had the bare 13 players with the majority of them from their U10 team. We won this game comfortably. We were then away to Ballisodare which was an extremely close contest. We are on-par until Ballisodare pulled away in the last quarter to win by 2 points. Our 4th game was away to St Michaels. This was also a close contest with Harps winning by 6 points in the end. Our final game was home to Geevagh where we completely dominated the game and won by a large margin. We ended up 3rd in our table and went straight into a semi final to meet Drumcliffe in Keash. This was a very closely fought battle. We led within the last few minutes of normal time until the game was played on for a total of 17 mins in the last quarter (as opposed to 10 mins) to end in a draw at the final whistle. We were still level at half time of extra time, however Drumcliffe went on to win the game by 2 points. The girls were gutted. Thankfully word came through that night that despite our loss we were into a Shield B final. On Sunday 13th Sept we met Calry in Curry. Another close encounter for much of the game. In the final quarter Eastern Harps pulled away and won the game. The girls were delighted. Despite the constraints brought to this year's GAA activities, the girls were disciplined in ensuring they maintained the Covid guidelines at all times, whilst at the same time enjoying training and games. We seen great turnout at both training and games. I believe it was a great outlet for the girls given all the restrictions in their day to day lives. They improved week on week and all contributed positively to the team throughout the year.

Samantha O’Gara

Underage Academy Report 2020 Considering we are all living in a pandemic, we had a very successful 2020 for all our underage players at u10/u8/u6 age groups. Before the initial lock down in march 2020 we ran a very successful indoor weekly activity programme from October 2019 to March 2020 where on average 45 children attended weekly. A nursery programme was also held for 4-6year olds during November/December upstairs in our club house and again this helped promote new registrations.

We started outfield training for all these age groups on the first week of August following our Cul Camp and implementation of safe return to play guidelines. This year we held one session each week on a Saturday morning. We had many new registrations and on average we had 70 children attending each session. Our U8 and U10 teams had some great games with Bunnindden, |Ballymote, Tourlestrane and Ballaghdereen. The U11 girls also participated in five 9 a side league games and showed great skill and effort in all games. Again as stated this year really was a year of unknowns and very difficult in terms of getting our teams together. Great effort was made during lock down to keep all members of Eastern Harps underage academy together, communicating and participating in the safety of their own home. Many thanks to Ross who put up weekly skills on our social media pages and delivered many prizes to children. We also sent out weekly training videos and skills for the children to practice at home. Let me take this opportunity to thank all coaches and parents who have helped through out the year in 2020. Special thanks to coaches at following age groups U6: Ross Donovan, Thomas Cryan, Paddy Henry, Adrian Cooke, Nigel Clancy, Sean Scott U8: Sarah Gallagher, Shane Gallagher, Jacinta O’Gara, Brendan McHugh, Shauna Ward, John Cryan U10: Pat Conheady, Michael McDermott, Morgan McCormack, George Garvey, Sam Tighe, Paul McGovern, Linda Donovan

I would also like to thank all the underage ladies players who also gave their time at various training sessions and help out when needed in developing new skills. We had 105 children registered at these age groups in 2020 which was very successful considering the COVID19 pandemic and the short year we had. Linda Donovan

Gaelic For Mothers and Others Like many other teams the G4M&O season was disrupted due to COVID 19, having said that the group still managed to get together and have a laugh all be it for a short duration.

Prior to the commencement of training the G4M&O pulled together a family friendly zoom table quiz for the club. A special thanks to Joanne O Grady for organising the technology side of things, quiz master superemo Ciaran McGovern and PRO Kevin Cryan for their help.

New faces started to appear at training which was great to see but unfortunately there was others that just couldn’t make it back. Due to the COVID restrictions we only managed to have 1 game with old rivals Shamrock Gaels. It was great to get the game, thanks to Angela Lavin for organising. After the match there was the obligatory very socially distant cuppa and chat outside under lights.

Like a lot of teams COVID 19 shortened the season but having said that it was an enjoyable short season. Lets hope 2021 is bigger and better for the G4M&O – the main aim for 2021for the G4M&O is to encourage more mothers / others to come out and play to continue the solid foundation of the last few years and also to ascertain a coach for the team for the coming year.

Finally a very special thanks must go to Catherine Cryan, she was a great help and support to the G4M&O all season.

Monica Henry

Pitch and Clubhouse It doesn’t get much better than going up to the Centre of Excellence in Bekan and sweeping the boards, taking both the County and Connacht Club Ground of The Year but that’s exactly what we did last December. The newly elected club chairman Seamus Hannon assisted by the Pitch chairman of many years John Cryan along with supporters were delighted to receive both awards. The cheque for Four Thousand Euro that accompanied the accolade was well received especially by our Treasurer Thomas Cryan. Our new facilities certainly generated much interest and apart from all the activities associated with running a club we found that there was a demand for our facilities from the wider community. We were delighted to be in a position where we could facilitate our local Choir group, Culfadda First Responders, Community Games and the Parish Council. Everything came to an abrupt end just before St. Patricks Day and they have rarely been used since. We were delighted when the news came in that we were to receive Sports Capital Funding which will be used solely for the installation of a lift, this will leave the building fully accessible for everyone and will allow us to offer more services for the community.

Training for all teams, in earnest, had just commenced when the gates of the pitch had to be closed due to the COVID virus. As the lads on the various schemes on the pitch were also prevented from working, we hastily put together a pitch committee as it was important that essential maintenance continued on the grounds. Good weather along with an empty pitch gave us the opportunity to carry out necessary remedial works. Both goalmouths on the main pitch were seeded and topsoil was spread on dangerous parts of the training pitch. Along with this work the pitch was also cut twice per week along with strimming and the application of weed killer on the car park. When games and training resumed again in mid-summer it unfortunately coincided with poor weather conditions which necessitated great cooperation between all age groups so that everyone was able to get maximum use out of the pitch. In one particular busy period which unfortunately was during very wet weather we hosted eight games, plus a week of Cul Camps in a nine day period. This along with the usual training sessions made it quite challenging to have the pitch in good condition. Thanks to the cooperation of the coaches we hosted all games that was listed for us, as no team wants to concede home advantage and travel to the opposing teams pitch. One noticeable change to training this year was that there were teams training 7 days a week, probably influenced somewhat by the fact that there was nowhere else for people to go. We hosted the Ladies Junior Final which was live streamed from the Club House for Facebook with commentary also on Ocean F.M. With our Ladies Intermediate team playing their final on the same day it was heartening to see the G4M&O take on the responsibility of running the game. We also hosted two games in the Mens Championship and a special word of thanks to the stewards who officiated on both of these days. All teams throughout the year that came to play on our pitch left the place in good condition after them, despite not been able to use our dressing rooms. The lights on the pitch remain a huge issue but until we can afford to install new floodlights its difficult to justify replacing bulbs every year on the current system. We are currently waiting for our electrician to return to connect one pole to the main grid which should be a huge benefit for lightening up the car park and also help light up part of the pitch. Further funding has been granted which will enhance our upstairs facilities and hopefully make it more appealing to local communities/businesses in the years ahead.

Eastern Harps Pitch Committee.

Report from Bord nÓg

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our underage teams and management in the club on a very successful year on both the girls and boys front. The future is certainly bright for the club with the talent that is emerging through. A big thank you and well done for your efforts in what has been a different year. It was also brilliant to watch the youngsters in the club competing in the online skills challenges throughout the lockdowns showing off their talents for us all to see.

As with everything in the world of COVID in 2020, the Brod na nOg main actvity, the Kerry McKeon Literary competition, also had to undergo a new route to completion. Previously the competition has been ran through the national schools with winners selected from each school along with an overall winner. Due to the closure of schools, improvison was required to help successfully carry out the competition, one that is growing from strength to strength every year and this year was no different.

This year we decided to open the competition up to involve a younger audience to showcase their creative talent and they certainly did just that. The competition took a new format of u- 6, u-8, u-10 and u-12 categories with a winner from each along with an overall winner. I would like to thank the schools, parents and underage coaches for their help with promoting what turned out to be a hugely successful competition. From the feedback received, the essay writing came as a welcomed distraction from the home schooling and it showed in the quality and quantity of entries received.

A big thank you to the McKeon family for their continued support of this competition that is held in Kerry’s memory, and one that continues to grow year upon year. I would like to thank Aisling Stephenson for her superb photography as Shane Brennan, Kerry’s nephew, presented the prizes and trophies to the 2020 winners. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to all who took part in 2020 as we currently look forward to next years Kerry McKeon Literary Awards, with the wheels already in motion for 2021. The 2020 winners were as follows,

U-6: Michal Donavon

U-8: Aidan Flaherty

U-10: Isabelle Higgins

U-12: Evan O’Gara

Overall winner: Evan O’Gara

As we look forward with optimism the future sure does look bright with the talent our youth are showing both on and off the field. Let’s hope our lives will soon go back to normal and we can all get back out on the field doing what we love, representing Eastern Harps GAA club in whatever capacity.

Mikey O’Grady

Healthy Club Much has already been spoken and written about the year gone by so there is little point in continuing the conversation. As a Healthy Club we focussed on the positives that we had control over and tried to work safely within those parameters. Carmel Taheny vacated her position as Chairperson of our Healthy Club at last year’s AGM, a position she has held since the Healthy Club’s inception in 2013. Getting a new venture off the ground is fraught with difficulties and keeping it afloat in its infancy can be daunting. However Carmel had a vision of the role which she felt would dovetail with the clubs activities and patiently and effortlessly she pursued her goal. Her easy going disposition made it easy to work with her but it didn’t hide her determination to succeed. During her tenure the role of the Healthy Club was very prominent, playing a pivotal role in in all of the Clubs developments. The Club are greatly indebted to Carmel for all her unselfish work. As a Healthy Club we had loads of ideas, but due to the topsy turvey nature of the year some plans had to be curtailed, some put on the back burner while others were just shelved. Having ran numerous Operation Transformations over the past eight years we slightly deviated from this programme and ran rowing classes just for men, and we also organised Zumba for the ladies. In this regard I would like to acknowledge and thank Deirdre Lavin and Theresa Kilgannon from Sligo Sports Partnership for their help both financially and their expertise in running these programmes. We were curtailed by the number of rowing machines but we still sold out 2 full classes on Tuesday and Thursday for the men while our Zumba ladies classes far exceeded our expectations with just under 120 participants. Edward East and Thomas Taheny were the principal overseers for the men while Carmel Taheny, Catherine Cryan and Avril East took charge of the ladies activities. We would like to thank Ann Wynne and Victoria Walker for their excellent programmes in both classes. The men were lucky enough to have their programme completed before lockdown. The Ladies were not as fortunate and their last class had to be postponed. We innocently thought we would be in a position to reschedule that class in the Autumn before we commenced another Zumba programme. During lockdown we were presented with a new challenge- to keep minds active!! With the help of Matt and Edel Henry we ran a series of dingbat competitions which was followed by Kevin Cryan posting several cryptic questions about footballers in our Club. We also sought the assistance of the Gaelic 4Mothers&others and they responded positively by organising We also entered a team of fifteen members in the Irish Life Walking Challenge. The competition was hopeless, poorly organised and we had lost interest in it long before it had reached its conclusion. Our monthly walks were also affected and in general were a hit and miss affair, however we were glad to be able to offer our assistance to Gurteen Bingo when they ran a fundraiser for Pieta House. In tandem with their fundraiser “Walk a K on the longest Day” we organised a leisurely walk to the majestic Carrowkeel tombs. With some excellent scenery and plenty of

42 chat we then enjoyed some refreshments provided by Eamonn Clarke and Deirdre Gillen at the conclusion of the walk. As I stated earlier, we had other ideas that just didn’t materialise this year. We had Easter Revision Courses organised for the Leaving Cert students in the club, and a fun filled Fr Ted night in Drurys. However we did manage a short Fr Ted video in support of the Ladies Intermediate team when they reached the Co Final. When we get the green light to recommence our outdoor activities we have more ideas that will all be unveiled. As a Healthy Club we would like to express our appreciation to the Clubs executive and in particular to Seamus Hannon and Linda Donovan for the manner in which they led and continue to lead the club through this current pandemic we find ourselves immersed in. Finally on behalf of the Healthy Club Committee we would like to thank everyone for all their help throughout the year and I also wish to thank the members of this committee for all their assistance over the past twelve months. Here’s hoping that you all and your families stay safe and we will look forward to Christmas and the New Year with optimism.

Padraig Henry

Development Committee

2020 was a year of reflection on milestones achieved and consideration as to how to move the club forward over the next 5 years. With that in mind, we sought about developing a club survey to evaluate where the club is at and formulate a plan for the next 5 years and beyond. The survey was published in May 2020. In total we received 120 responses. A sub-group from the executive met on numerous occasions to consider the survey and develop a strategic plan for the next few years. This work is still ongoing. It was felt that we should take time to consider our next strategic plan and potentially launch a new strategic plan alongside a timeline where we might find ourselves getting to the positive side of dealing with the Covid 19 pandemic. We would hope this opportunity will present itself in late Q1 2021. Eastern Harps GAA club was been successful once again in receiving funding from Sligo Local Community Development Committee under the Rural Development Programme (RDP). We wish to thank all in Sligo County Council and Sligo LCDC and the implementing partners, Sligo LEADER Partnership Company Limited. This approval was given at a meeting of the Sligo LCDC on the 29th October.

We were approved for €24,828.63 from the RDP. The funding covers for example 20 multifunctional tables (flip flop beech tables) that can be used for numerous purposes and

43 events. Sound system and conferencing equipment, electric screen for projector, two high performance laptops (secretary and data analysis), and other software technology and equipment that will be of great benefit to the club. Please note we also received €2000 (no club contribution) from the community enhancement grant in September, which will cover the cost of floor cleaning equipment to meet the hygiene demands that will be required once our facilities eventually do open.

I want to thank Paul Taylor for his help and support in the Sligo LCDC RDP application process. Paul and I met with the implementing partner, Sligo Leader Partnership Limited, in late 2019 where we discussed our ideas and agreed a scope to work towards. Paul also worked with me all along the process which took months as there were a lot of facets to the project especially in terms of procurement.

On a parallel project, Paul Taylor managed to help get us on the National Broadband scheme working with Sligo County Council. We are currently progressing this scheme at no cost to the club. I have been linking in on this with Paul and Sligo Co Co since the start of the year. This will deliver high speed broadband (free to club) and will provide us an opportunity to perhaps maximise the use of the upstairs multipurpose facility and please God after this crisis get some income from the same.

I believe there will also be a spin off in terms of better broadband in the locality near the pitch which locals will be able to avail of (there will be a charge here obviously). You will note this year, poor broadband at club facilities hampered streaming of matches. This opens loads of options to us, such as streaming to oversees members/diaspora.

I also want to thank Seamus Hannon (Chairperson), Thomas Cryan (Treasurer), and Kevin Cryan (PRO) for their support and help with the application to Sligo LCDC under the RDP.

I am also delighted to announce that Green Isle Foods, Gurteen has agreed to come on board as a donor to help finance the 25% contribution towards the project. Our club is grateful to Green Isle Foods, Gurteen for their community support. This Company has been a major part of the local Community for many years providing vital employment in this area.

I also want to thank the executive in supporting the application to Sligo LCDC (RDP).

I can confirm that the project applied for was highly commended and that our club is developing a reputation as a group that can deliver on stated objectives and empower our community. We are developing significant credibility through our developments and more importantly through our social and community initiatives over the years. Thanks to everyone in this regard. Ni neart go cur le cheile.

I note that this time last year we entered an award for club grounds of the year where we were again successful and received a welcome €4000 for our efforts. We should keep an eye to any other such awards out there to build our profile and maximise any income potential. If you look at the social contribution of the club to the community in 2020, there are many significant positives we can draw on.

As set out in our executive meetings during the year, we need to move quickly to spend and draw down this grant so that we can move on the lift in the new year. There will be a real

44 balancing act in terms of finances to see these projects through as we have to spend first and claim the money back after in both instances.

Finally, thank you to everyone who helped with the strategic plan process, applying and drawing down grants or helping in any way to ensure we continue to move forward. If I have left anyone out, I apologise in advance.

Keep positive, keep safe all, we will get through these tough times by working together and supporting each other in our community.

Sean Scott

Ross Makes the Headlines

Donovan embarks on go kart fundraising adventure

As published on gaa.ie on Tuesday 26 May 2020

By Cian O'Connell

It was a weekend journey with a difference.

Former Sligo footballer Ross Donovan did his bit for charity clocking up 10 kilometres in a go kart with his six year old son Michael.

Ultimately it capped a fine fundraising effort from the Eastern Harps GAA club. More than 11,000 euro has been raised for the CLASP and Ballymote Community Nursing Unit which delighted Donovan.

"Around two weeks ago the club started doing a fundraiser for CLASP and the Ballymote Community Nursing Unit, they were doing duals, head to heads running against each other," Donovan explains.

"Whoever ran the most was going to get the pride of the parish if you like, but I hadn't taken part in the running. It just didn't suit me on the roads at the minute, but the young lad has a go kart at the house and we were messing on it a couple of evenings.

"We said we would go, to give it a lash, to do something for it. That was just our twist on it."

So how long did the adventure take? "We actually did really well, an hour and a half," Donovan laughs.

"We stopped on the way for ice cream, we had a great little time. One or two of the videos are what set it off, that is what got everyone in the humour for it.

"We did another one where he finished off, he brought us home for the last maybe half a mile or so, he brought us in. He enjoyed the whole day."

There wasn't any significant masterplan when leaving the family home which added to the sense of excitement.

"We announced it on Twitter that morning what we were going to do," Donovan states. "We had no route or anything planned, we were conscious of not being on the main road for too long. You have two or three little back roads into the village of Gurteen from our house, so we went on that loop.

"The plan was to get to Gurteen where we might get a lift home, but we had got on so well and we enjoyed it so well we got to Gurteen quick enough. We went out the road, my wife followed us for a bit of it, but she let us off when we got on the open road.

"You'd have to give huge credit to a lot of our lads in the club, they have ran some amount of kilometres, one of the selectors Mikey O'Grady did 11 kilometres."

Throughout the country clubs continue to organise interesting events and Eastern Harps' senior footballers benefited from this experience according to Donovan.

"You can see stuff going on in loads of clubs around the county and country," he adds. "With ours they ran it for two weeks and what they really took from it was there was that bit of competitiveness in it. That is what you want in a team sport.

"They had two teams, A and B with 19 on each side. Whoever won the dual then your overall team could win. It had the club talking about it, everyone was tracking the updates as to who was ahead so it brought a buzz for the two weeks.

"People were saying the charities would struggle because there wasn't as many out and about. Maybe the money wouldn't be there, but every club in the country has got behind some charity or local fundraiser. The money being raised is phenomenal.

"We have other clubs here who ran some great fundraisers, the money they gathered was unbelievable."

Eastern Harps Grand Members Draw For just under €5 per week we are proud to offer you the chance to be part of our Grand Members draw with a total prize fund of €22,000 plus additional benefits. If you are a paid up draw member you can avail of Club membership for as little as €1. In many cases a family can avail of membership discount of €120 for 3 Children if you are a club draw member. That means you can avail of draw membership for €130 per year (€2.50 per week) Benefits of draw membership include ➢ Entry to our Annual draw for a minimum of €22,000 in prizes ➢ Twice weekly participation as a syndicate member in the National Lotto, using the below listed numbers ➢ Twice weekly participation as a syndicate member in our Euro Lotto with a Jackpot of €170,000,000 and more ➢ Entry to draw for All Ireland tickets (2x individual) ➢ €1 Registration per family member.

Syndicate National Lotto Numbers (A) 14, 15, 22, 25, 26, 34 (B) 14, 20, 28, 29, 36, 40 (C) 1, 12, 35, 37, 38, 44 Syndicate Euro Lotto Numbers Lucky stars (A) 2, 19, 28, 33, 43, 3, 8 (B) 13, 20, 32, 39, 40, 3, 4, (C) 4, 12, 21, 33, 35, 4, 8

To enter contact any member of the executive or email [email protected]

Eastern Harps 2020 Club Draw Winners Prize Ticket # Winner €10,000 144 David Wynne €5,000 148 John & Nicole Cosgrove €3,000 318 John Lynch €1,000 169 Kieran Kielty €500 500 Colm Duffy €500 41 Kevin Kane €250 102 Declan Hannon €250 254 Ann Flaherty €250 160 Louis & Eileen Carty

€250 206 George & Martha Garvey €100 33 Caroline Cawley & Reggie Scanlon €100 138 Ellie Hanrick, Pat, Marguerite Mc Govern €100 125 Pat Conheady €100 258 Kevin Higgins €100 99 Marie Mc Hugh €100 176 Michael Keville €100 335 Joe and Mary Hannon €100 431 Michelle Healy €100 237 Michael & Sharon Brennan €100 75 Paul O Dowd

Club Draw Rules for All Ireland Tickets.

Category 1: One ticket drawn between Premium Sponsors.

Category 2: Two tickets drawn between all syndicate members.

Category 3: Any remaining tickets to be drawn between full members over 18 years of age along with any syndicate member that expresses an interest in the draw. The winner of these tickets must use the ticket.

The draw for the All-Ireland Hurling Final tickets is confined to Category 3 above.

Eastern Harps Executive Committee 2020

Position Member Chairperson Seamus Hannon Vice-Chairperson Tom Murray Ciarán Mc Govern/ Secretary Thomas Murphy Vice-Secretary Paul Judge Treasurer Thomas Cryan Vice-Treasurer Brendan Mc Hugh PRO Kevin Cryan Registrar Deirdre Gillen Development Officer Sean Scott Coaching Officer Linda Donovan Bord na nÓg Chairperson Mikey O Grady Childrens Officer Sarah Gallagher Schools Liaison Officer Seamus Hannon Health & Wellbeing Officer Padraig Henry Pitch Committee Chairperson John Cryan Oifigeach na Gaeilge Lisa Casey Club Safety Officer Barry Cryan Insurance Officer James Soden Senior Player Representative Kevin Cryan County Board Delegate Ciarán Mc Govern Ladies Chairperson Gary Ward Ladies Secretary Catherine Cryan Ladies PRO Lisa Casey Other Executive Members Aisling Stephenson Carmel Taheny Colm Duffy Fintan Mc Gowan Gabriel Gallagher Louis Carty Paul Dwyer Paul Taylor Ronan Higgins Shaun Dorrian

Eastern Harps GAA Club AGM 29th November 2020

List of Nominations

Eastern Harps Executive Committee Nominations 2020 AGM Position Member Nominated by Proposed by: Padraig Henry Chairperson Seamus Hannon Seconded by: Brendan McHugh Proposed by: Brendan Mc Hugh Vice-Chairperson Padraig Henry Seconded by: Seamus Hannon Proposed by: Sean Scott Vice-Chairperson Tom Murray Seconded by: Sinead Scott Proposed by: Seamus Hannon Secretary Thomas Murphy Seconded by: Paul Judge Proposed by: Ciarán Mc Govern Vice-Secretary Paul Judge Seconded by: Michael O’Grady Proposed by: Louis Carty Treasurer Thomas Cryan Seconded by: Kevin Cryan Proposed by: Padraig Henry Vice-Treasurer Brendan McHugh Seconded by: Seamus Hannon Proposed by: Catherine Cryan PRO Kevin Cryan Seconded by: Thomas Cryan Proposed by: Ciaran McGovern Registrar Deirdre Gillen Seconded by: Damien Mc Govern Proposed by: Tom Murray Development Officer Sean Scott Seconded by: Sinead Scott Proposed by: Ross Donovan Coaching Officer Linda Donovan Seconded by: Michael Hannon Proposed by: Paul Judge Bord na nÓg Chairperson Michael O’Grady Seconded by: Paul Taylor Nominated by the outgoing Childrens Officer Sarah Gallagher executive. Schools Liaison Officer *Health & Wellbeing Officer Pitch Committee Chairperson Oifigeach na Gaeilge Club Safety Officer Insurance Officer Senior Player Representative Proposed by: Paul Judge County Board Delegate Ciarán Mc Govern Seconded by: Deirdre Gillen *Ladies Chairperson Proposed by: Kevin Cryan *Ladies Secretary Catherine Cryan Seconded by: Thomas Cryan *Ladies PRO

Position Member Nominated by Executive Members Proposed by: Ronan Higgins Fintan Mc Gowan Seconded by: Seamus Hannon Proposed by: Thomas Cryan Louis Carty Seconded by: Kevin Cryan Proposed by: Tom Murray Carmel Taheny Seconded by: Sinead Scott Proposed by: Sean Scott Cian Higgins Seconded by: Tomas Taheny Proposed by: Sean Scott Tomás Taheny Seconded by: Cian Higgins Proposed by: Fintan Mc Gowan Ronan Higgins Seconded by: Seamus Hannon

*Ladies positions to be filled at Ladies AGM

Any positions unfilled shall be filled by the new executive committee as soon as practical after the AGM as per Rule 8.6